


Whisper a Prayer

by RandyPandy



Series: Countless Realms [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chrom!Brady, Chrom!Cynthia, Chrom!Inigo, Chrom!Kjelle, Chrom!Morgan, Dancer Azur | Inigo, Emmeryn!Morgan, Exalt!Owain, Female Marc | Morgan, Gen, Inspired by Fates' Heirs of Fate DLC, Libra!Owain, Major Character Injury, Male Marc | Morgan, References to other FEs, Temporary Character Death, happy ending i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:22:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyPandy/pseuds/RandyPandy
Summary: “The seven of you are not from the same world,” Naga explained. “In all seven of your worlds, the hope for the Awakening had been destroyed and lost. With Grima’s power pervading through all seven of them, I summoned you here in an attempt to intervene.”In which Owain, current wielder of Falchion, learns that sometimes the bonds of friendship and family go beyond the reaches of space and time and that only by working together can true miracles be awakened and worlds saved.
Series: Countless Realms [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821307
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	Whisper a Prayer

**Author's Note:**

> Just to get this out of the way: Some of Owain's thought processes were inspired by the Hot-Spring Scramble DLC, in his conversation with Robin (non-related and father/son). Also, his dramatic speech is hard, no matter how much I love him.

_In a terrible future, Exalt Lucina partially Awakened the power of Naga with the Binding Shield and four of the five Gemstones, as the last had been destroyed. With eleven friends, she traveled back in time to help Exalt Chrom defeat the Fell Dragon for good._

_In a future past, Grima nearly won, but mysterious warriors from a world beyond their own ensured Exalt Lucina received the five Gemstones and the power of Naga, allowing her to fully Awaken and destroy the Fell Dragon._

_In seven worlds, Exalt Lucina was felled before she could receive the gemstones._

_In one of these worlds, Crown Prince Inigo returned to Ylisse with Azure in his possession, his heart heavy at having to leave his cousin and his two friends behind._

_In another world, Crown Prince Brady made it back to Ylisse alone with Vert in his hands, tears falling from his eyes at the sacrifices that his cousin and friends made._

_In yet another world, Crown Princess Cynthia, against all odds, survived and made it back to Ylisse with Argent, praying that she would meet with her friends again._

_In still another world, Crown Princess Kjelle, arrived back in Ylisse carrying Gules with her and mourning the fact that her dearest friends were gone._

_In still even another world, Crown Prince Morgan resisted temptation and fled, hoping against hope that he could find his friends. Instead, he merely found the gemstone Sable in the ruins of Ylisse._

_In another future past, Crown Princess Morgan resisted the temptation, stealing the Binding Shield back from Grima and seeking her friends out._

_And in one final world, Crown Prince Owain escaped the Risen with the sacrifices of his best friends, no Gemstones, and barely made it back to Ylisse only to find a severely injured Lucina. With a whispered prayer, she handed him Falchion and told him to defeat Grima._

* * *

When his uncle had started training him as the ‘spare’, this was not what he had had in mind.

With Falchion in hand and Risen on his tail, Owain _ran._

What could he possibly do, though? He was able to wield Falchion, as he had discovered when he had attacked a Risen in panic, but even if he had his family’s divine weapon, the Binding Shield and the five Gemstones had been destroyed. Without them, the Awakening could not happen, and Grima could not be sealed away.

It was hopeless.

Lucina had not been dead when he’d found her, but her legs had been shattered and she had been badly injured. With Risen converging towards them, she had told him to run, and he had made the painful decision to listen to her. With Chrom, Lissa, and Emmeryn long dead, and Lucina about to, Owain was the last member of the bloodline of Ylisse, the last known descendant of the Hero-King Marth, the last known being to carry Naga’s blood after the Voice, Tiki, had fallen.

Inigo, Brady, and Yarne had sacrificed themselves and stayed back to fight to Risen to ensure that he was able to make it back, but… Owain gritted his teeth. A hero would have been able to save them. His dearest friends should not have had to sacrifice themselves for him because of his _blood_. And he didn’t find Gerome, Laurent, and Severa near Lucina, and given that Cynthia, Kjelle, Nah, and Noire never made it back, either…

He didn’t want to be a hero anymore. He just wanted to join them. But he _had_ to be the hero, because there was no one else left to be one. Lucina – the _world_ – was counting on him.

Owain knew that he was not the best person for the job, but, as the Risen slowly started to catch up to him, he knew that he had to survive.

He leapt up and brought Falchion down on the head of the nearest Risen, spinning around so that he could drive it into the next one. Even with his friends having held off the Risen, and with Falchion in his hands, there were too many of them.

Panic surged through Owain as he used every resource at his disposal, kicking Risen while at the same time whirling around so that Falchion could slice through them. There were too many. There was a reason that Risen had to be dealt with by groups of people – a single person didn’t stand a chance against this many of them.

The next thing Owain knew, Falchion was glowing – _he_ was glowing _._ The light caused the Risen to flinch back for a moment before converging back on him. It was only when his vision went white and Owain felt like he was floating that he finally loosened his grip on Falchion, not sheathing it, but allowing it to carry him away.

Whatever was happening, he wasn’t sure he could stop it, anyways.

* * *

When his vision cleared, Owain found himself curled on a cool floor, in a building that he did not recognize. He groaned, before sitting up, eyes darting around to figure out where he was. His first instinct was to break out of wherever he was.

The only reason that Owain did _not_ was due to the fact that Naga’s symbol was all over the room that he was in. Heart pounding, he clutched Falchion close, prepared to defend himself if necessary.

He wasn’t the only person there. There were six other people present, five of them with blue hair and one of them blonde. And now that Owain got a more careful look at them, they looked an awful lot like his friends – two of them looked eerily like Inigo and Brady (his heart still panged when he thought about them), two of them looked a _lot_ like Morgan (where in the world had Morgan disappeared to, anyways?) and the last two reminded him of Kjelle and Cynthia.

“What manner of foul illusions are you?” Owain demanded, wary, but slipping back into his coping mechanisms. “I warn you, if you are here to cover the world with a veil of darkness…”

It was the Inigo lookalike that stared at him, blurting out, “Owain?! But… But you stayed behind…”

“Wait a second, you all look like my friends!” one of the Morgan lookalikes – the blonde girl – blurted out. “Where are we? What have you all done?”

_“Please, calm yourselves.”_

All seven of them whirled around, noticing the glowing form of –

“Lady Naga,” Owain whispered, almost dropping Falchion in his surprise. Naga had brought him here, with these people? Why?

 _“My apologies for only bringing you seven here now,”_ Naga told them, gently. _“It was only now that I was capable of it. This was done because you are the last hopes for your respective worlds.”_

“…What do you mean, ‘for our respective worlds’?” Owain asked.

 _“The seven of you are not from the same world,”_ Naga explained. _“In all seven of your worlds, the hope for the Awakening had been destroyed and lost. With Grima’s power pervading through all seven of them, I summoned you here in an attempt to intervene.”_ She smiled at them. _“My children, why don’t you introduce yourselves?”_

The seven of them stared at each other. One by one, they introduced themselves.

Princess Cynthia, daughter of Exalt Chrom and the Falcon Knight Captain Sumia. Prince Inigo, son of Exalt Chrom and the Feroxi Dancer Olivia. Princess Kjelle, daughter of Exalt Chrom and the Crimson Knight Sully. Prince Brady, son of Exalt Chrom and the Magistrate Maribelle.

And now, it was just three of them left.

“I’m Prince Morgan!” the blue-haired boy Morgan-lookalike said. “I’m the son of Exalt Chrom and the Tactician Robin.”

“Hey! My name’s Morgan too!” the blonde girl Morgan-lookalike said. “I’m Princess Morgan, and my parents are the Tactician Robin and former Exalt Emmeryn!”

“Huh? You had two moms?” blue-haired Morgan asked.

Blonde-Morgan frowned at him. “What do you mean? Robin was my dad! Emmeryn is my mom!”

“Robin was my _mom_ ,” blue-haired Morgan pointed out. “And Chrom was my dad!”

“Since all of us are from different worlds, maybe Robin wasn’t a lovely lady in some of them,” Inigo said, and then looked confused. “I wouldn’t argue about it, Morgan and… Morgan.”

“Okay, yeah, this is going to get confusing super fast,” Cynthia said, placing her hands on her hips. “We have got to give at least one of you a nickname! Otherwise when we yell ‘Morgan!’ the both of you are going to respond.”

“Perhaps we can call the lady here ‘Emm’?” Owain suggested. “For the name of her sacred mother and the first letter of her name.”

“Emm is fine!” the female Morgan said cheerfully.

Owain shook his head in both amusement and surprise, trying to comprehend the fact that a version of his aunt had survived and had had a child with a version of Robin. He took a deep breath. “…I go by the moniker of Prince Owain, son of the fierce and beautiful Princess Lissa and the priest Libra.”

Judging from the slightly surprised looks, he was apparently _not_ either Lissa or Libra’s son in their worlds. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.

The children were silent for a moment, before Inigo spoke up. “Um, I suppose this means that we are technically all related?”

“You just want to flirt, don’t you?” Brady grumbled, and Inigo turned red.

“N-No! I was just curious!”

“Great, even this version of Inigo is still a flirt,” Kjelle sighed.

“Shhhh!” Cynthia said, putting a finger to her lips. “Lady Naga wants to speak with us again!”

Owain was blushing this time as he whirled around to turn back to Naga. “Our apologies, Lady Naga of the Divine.”

Naga’s expression had broken from its normal stoicness and had taken on a faintly fond countenance. _“Don’t fret, children of mine. Camaraderie between the seven of you is important, as you are the last hopes of defeating Grima.”_

“Which version, though?” Kjelle asked. “Milady, there are seven of us here, which would mean there are seven Grimas…”

Owain shuddered. One Grima had been bad enough, but Kjelle’s words were a reminder that there were at least seven worlds where the Fell Dragon had been resurrected and had destroyed everything and killed thousands of people. It was even possible that _other_ worlds had also been destroyed, and they only didn’t know about them because none of the Exalted blood survived.

 _“…”_ Naga fell silent again. _“There is a reason that I was able to summon all seven of you to one location. Unfortunately, I do not know which one, one version of the Fell Dragon found their way to the Dragons’ Gate.”_

“The fabled portal through time and space, spoken of only in legends?” Owain asked, his eyes widening.

 _“The very same,”_ Naga confirmed for them. _“The multiple versions of the Fell Dragon found each other and combined, and in doing so, warped your seven worlds together. As part of my Exalted line, the seven of you and anything you had on you were unaffected.”_

“So… this means that even if you send us all back, then we’re all going be part of the same world,” Inigo said.

_“Yes, unless you can defeat Grima. These worlds are not meant to be together. However, combining them may prove to be their undoing.”_

“Whaddya mean?” Brady asked, frowning as he clutched his staff close.

 _“The Awakening never occured in your worlds because the majority of the key elements had been destroyed,”_ Naga explained. _“Seven key elements are needed to perform a true Awakening: the blade Falchion, forged from one of my fangs, the Binding Shield, and the five Gemstones. Owain, if I am correct, that blade that you hold is Falchion.”_

“Er- yes, Lady Naga,” Owain said, holding Falchion up. “It was all that I was able to recover.”

Naga smiled, and turned to the rest of the children. _“Surely the rest of you were able to recover at least one element?”_

Cynthia, Kjelle, Inigo, Brady, and Morgan each pulled out a different Gemstone, while Emm pulled out the Binding Shield. Owain _stared_.

“Do my eyes deceive me? We have the ingredients for the Awakening?” Owain whispered, his voice awed.

“My, this is a stroke of luck!” Inigo said, letting out a breath.

“So we can destroy Grima!” Cynthia chirped, nearly bouncing on her feet.

 _“I’m afraid not,”_ Naga told them, regretfully _. “Grima, I am afraid, can only be felled by their own power.”_

“So the best we can do is simply seal them again for another thousand years,” Owain muttered tiredly, glancing down at Falchion. It was better than nothing, but at the same time, they would just be leaving another generation in multiple worlds to have to deal with Grima’s aftermath.

“…” Morgan, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke up. “You said that Grima can only be felled by his own power, right? What about me and Emm, though? If we’re…” He didn’t voice it out loud.

“We would… have Grima’s power, wouldn’t I? If we can get close enough, we could kill him, right?” Emm asked, looking up at Naga anxiously.

Cynthia gasped. “Morgan, that’s brilliant! The two of you could kill Grima!”

 _“True, children,”_ Naga said to Morgan and Emm. _“You could. However, by attacking Grima with your own powers, their powers would also rebound to the two of you, and kill you both.”_

“I’m prepared to make that sacrifice to stop him for good,” Morgan said readily, determination in his normally cheerful countenance.

“So am I!” Emm said with a nod. “I’m a daughter of Naga, not Grima!”

“You can’t!” Owain had blurted out before he could even think, staring at the two of them, his heart pounding. So many people had died against Grima already. He couldn’t bare to lose _anyone_ else, even if he didn’t know them that well.

“Absolutely not,” Kjelle agreed.

“Do y’all really think we’re just gonna let y’all kill yourselves?” Brady said, his face screwing up. “If anymore people died, I would… I would…” He sobbed, rubbing at his face with his sleeve.

“But—”

 _“There is no need to decide until you are there,”_ Naga pointed out, though she gave no hints as to whether she preferred the Morgans sacrifice themselves or not. _“However, Falchion must be Awakened to weaken Grima regardless before he is re-sealed or killed.”_

Owain stepped forward, nervous, and then paused, looking back towards the others. “Whose spirit burns brightly enough to Awaken the legendary Falchion?”

“That version of Falchion is yours, Owain,” Inigo told him, that ever-present smile on his face. “You should be the one to Awaken it. I’m a dancer, not a fighter. I can use a sword, but… I’m not worthy of Falchion.”

“Yeah!” Cynthia agreed. “You’re the legendary Owain of the Justice Cabal! ‘Sides, I’m much better with a lance, anyways!”

“Me?” Owain stared down at the blade, and then at the Binding Shield. “Brady, Kjelle, Morgan, Emm?”

Emm shook her head. “I… I was never intended to be one of the heirs,” she said, her voice quiet. “Uncle Chrom had Lucina, and after her, Aunt Lissa had you— _my_ cousin Owain. I was the last in line, and I’m Fellblood and without a Brand. So I don’t really… have the right.”

Morgan grimaced. “It’s the same. I’m Fellblood, and I never had the Brand surface, unlike Luci. I don’t have the right to perform the Awakening ceremony.”

Brady just pointed at his staff. “I ain’t no fighter, Owain. I’m a healer. Sorta can use an axe. I don’t know the first thing about using Falchion.”

“Like Cynthia, I’m a far better fighter with a lance,” Kjelle told her. “I know some swordplay, but if I remember right, _Owain_ was always the best sword-fighter out of all of us.”

So it was decided then. They all unanimously believed that out of all seven of them, Owain was the best candidate to perform the Awakening, even if he didn’t himself. Did they truly believe that? Did they truly believe that Owain could be a hero?

If they did, then he would certainly do his best to make sure that they were proven right. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, thinking of everyone.

He thought of Lucina, his beloved cousin, and how she had put her faith in him as she lay dying, telling him to run and abandon her for the sake of the world. He was terrified that he would never live up to her, as he only pretended to be a hero instead of _actually_ being one. Lucina was truly a hero. Could he become one?

Gazing at Falchion and the Binding Shield, Owain knew that regardless of whether he was a hero or not, someone had to do this. And if that someone was in fact going to be him, then he would give it his best shot, no matter what.

Steeling his convictions, he held Falchion up in between himself and Naga, and narrowed his eyes. “I am ready.”

_“Then please assemble the Fire Emblem.”_

Emm held out the Binding Shield, and the others approached to place the Gemstones on it. Inigo slotted in Azure, Brady slotted in Vert, Cynthia slotted in Argent, Kjelle slotted in Gules, and Morgan slotted in Sable. The seven of them set the Binding Shield down in between Naga and Owain.

Opening his eyes, Owain took a deep breath, before he spoke. The words tumbled from his lips as if he had known what they were his whole life.

_"Hear me, Naga! I bear proof of our sacred covenant! In the name of the exalted blood, I ask for the divine dragon’s power! Baptize me in fire, that I may become your true son!”_

The first thing that Owain felt was the Brand on his arm burning, before he was covered in Naga’s fire. He gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming in pain – he knew what went on in the Awakening ritual, that performers were bathed in fire to test whether they were worthy to do so. The First Exalt and likely Marth would have gone through this.

He was no hero like Marth, but by Naga’s holy light, he had grown up hearing stories about Naga from his father, and his sheer determination and will to not let Lucina and the others down kept him from buckling under the might of the flames.

“You got this, Owain,” he heard someone whisper from behind him, and despite the heat, he could feel the others surrounding him, supporting him, and this surged Owain’s willpower to new levels. No matter, even if they were not the versions of his friends that he had known, but strangers that supposedly shared blood, they would be there to support him.

_"Be welcome, Awakener. Your heart has been tested and deemed worthy. Cleansed in my fire, your desire has proven to burn the stronger."_

Falchion glowed gently again, and Owain momentarily forgot how to breathe as he felt the full power of the sword go through him.

* * *

Owain couldn’t stop staring at Falchion.

For years, he had been seeking out a legendary weapon. Mystletainn had been the one that he had desired; the legendary sword was rumored to have been given to a branch of the royal family it had once belonged to, who swore to protect the main branch. He had hoped, that by obtaining Mystletainn, that he would be able to do the same for Lucina – that he would be her protector.

Some dreams, it appeared, were meant to be shattered.

He had obtained his legendary weapon, true, but the weapon was Falchion (even _he_ didn’t dare rename Falchion), and his cousin was…

He remembered how she’d looked the last time he’d seen her – physically broken, but mentally determined as she put her hopes in him – and shoved the thought away violently. If he thought about it too much, then he would want to join her.

Regardless, he had gone through the Awakening ceremony, and had apparently been deemed worthy. After the Awakening ceremony, Naga had wished them luck.

 _“I will teleport you to Grima as soon as you are all ready. Once you arrive,”_ she told them. _“Defeat Grima’s Avatar as quickly as you can. Once the Avatar is defeated, then you will have won and the worlds will start to separate.”_

However, just because the others did not have Falchion did not mean that Naga was forcing them to go unarmed. She had outfitted the rest of them with Holy weapons and extra power, and had even given Owain a second Holy weapon – the fabled tome of thunder and lightning, Mjölnir.

He could see himself laughing in battle as a Sorcerer like Henry or Tharja, casting lightning spells, oddly enough. Perhaps there was a world where a version of him that had taken up magic.

Cynthia _,_ interestingly enough, had ended up with Mystletainn instead of him. Owain supposed that there were other things to complain about than the fact that he didn’t get Mystletainn – at least she was part of the Justice Cabal. Maybe one day, when all of this was over, he could obtain the sword for himself, but for now…

“Are we worthy of these?” Inigo had asked, skeptical as he lifted Tyrfing to test its weight. Yewfelle was already on his back, arrows in a quiver.

 _“All of these holy weapons have been essential in defeating evil in the past,”_ Naga explained to them. _“While your blood is Minor, all of you contain the Holy Blood necessary to wield each one I have given you. There is the power of many Grimas, with many Risen, and I wish to give you as much of an edge as I possibly can.”_

“Thank you very much for the tomes, Lady Naga,” Morgan said, bowing respectfully as he stroked Forseti and Valflame’s spines with his fingers.

“Lady Naga?” It was Emm, and she was staring at the two tomes in her hand. One was the Book of Naga, which Owain understood that _Naga_ would definitely have, but the other tome… Grima’s Truth. There was definitely dark magic coming off of it – Owain, having two magical parents, had some sense for these kinds of things. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything! But why did you give me this?”

Naga’s expression was unreadable. _“Only Grima’s own power can destroy him. If you choose that option, then that tome will help you channel it. I have no concerns about it corrupting you, my child.”_

It had better not corrupt Emm, or they would _all_ be angry. Owain, and he knew the others, would be angry if anything happened to Emm or Morgan. They had seen far too many people die.

“Owain?” At the voice, Owain turned away from Falchion and looked up at his friends. It was Cynthia that had spoken. “Are you ready?”

 _Luci, I’ll do my best_ , he mentally promised his cousin, and nodded. “Me? I was born ready!”

_“Good luck, my children… you must win, or many worlds will follow into ruin. Call for me once you have succeeded, and I will hear your prayer.”_

* * *

They had teleported onto Grima’s back, the massive dragon more like a flying ship of some sort with how huge and steady he was.

Grima’s Avatar was spotted right away, the figure surrounding by black flames that obscured their figure. The moment the Avatar had spotted them, all hell broke loose.

**“DO YOU ARROGANT MORTALS DARE THINK THAT YOU CAN DEFEAT ME?”**

And then there were Risen everywhere. Hundreds of them. And, as Owain looked at their faces with feelings of dread, it seemed as if Grima had specifically chosen the Risen that he had just to mess with them. For in front of them were versions of their dead _parents_.

He heard Cynthia cry out in horror, and he was sure that Kjelle was trying not to collapse as it was. Whether they were _their_ versions, no one knew, but…

It was close enough.

Owain fired a Mjölnir spell at a Risen that came too close to him, the tome in one hand and Falchion in another as he put all of his skills in fighting to work. With the Risen protecting Grima, and Grima _themselves_ attacking from the back, they were going to have to put every single skill that they had work.

He only prayed that none of them were felled here.

“Everyone, stay close!” Morgan called. “We can’t afford to be split up here!”

Inigo remained behind everyone else, firing off arrows with Yewfelle at any Risen approaching from the distance, pointedly ignoring the Risen that looked eerily like his mother.

Owain gritted his teeth as he came face-to-face with his _own_ mother, now a Risen. It didn’t matter if this was his _actual_ mother or the mother of some other Owain from one of the others’ worlds. The kind, beautiful Exalt Lissa, who had taken the reins after Chrom’s death to try to shield a young Lucina, didn’t deserve a fate like this.

“Mother,” he whispered, gripping Mjölnir instead of Falchion. He refused to cut his own mother down with her own family’s divine weapon. “I will always love you, and I shall save you from a fate worse than death.”

He leapt forward as Lissa jumped back, and Owain feinted a swipe with Falchion at her legs. She fell for it, moving to block there with her staff, but instead, Owain fired Mjölnir where her heart would be.

Lissa let out a gasp and crumpled to the ground. “O…wain… my son…” she murmured, closing her eyes. “I’m so… proud of you…”

“Goodbye, Mother,” he whispered, before black smoke came out of her and she faded away into dust.

Grima had to pay for this.

His eyes roaming the area, he spotted Grima’s Avatar near the back, and he gritted his teeth and ran towards him, the Avatar whipping towards him when he noticed who was in front of him.

**“…INTERESTING. THE DELUDED ONE BELIEVES HE IS NAGA’S CHOSEN.”**

“I don’t care what you think I believe,” Owain hissed, raising Falchion. “We are going to stop your evil plans.”

**“ARROGANT FOOL. CHROM COULDN’T STOP ME. NEITHER COULD LISSA NOR LUCINA. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK _YOU_ CAN?”**

Maybe he wasn't a hero. Maybe he would _never_ be the hero he always pretended that he was. But damn him if he didn't _try_. Owain darted forward and slashed at them. Grima attempted to dodge, but the sword caught them in the arm, and they let out a shriek of what appeared to be pain before yanking themselves away from Owain.

 **“YOU WILL PAY!”** Grima roared, sending black flame towards Owain. The flames slammed into him, and Owain had to resist the urge to roll on the ground to get it off of him as it would leave him more vulnerable until they flickered away, and felt something hotter burn inside of him as he leapt towards Grima’s Avatar.

“You will meet your end before you can do anything to me! _Vengeance_!” Owain yelled as he attacked Grima again. Falchion’s magic surged through, easily slicing through the skin of their torso, and Grima shrieked once more as Naga’s holy magic flowed through them, nearly collapsing as Owain pressed the blade deeper inside of him.

Instead of collapsing, though, the Avatar’s body flared with flames, and Owain realized, with a sinking feeling, what was happening. Grima raised one hand and massive purple flames erupted from their body towards him.

**“IGNIS. EXPIRATION.”**

Not having enough time to dodge, Owain quickly pulled Falchion out and raised it in an effort to block the attack. But despite the holy sword taking the brunt of the attack, the force of at least seven Grimas versus one Falchion at near point blank range was still too much, and it knocked him flat on the ground. As he lay there, stunned briefly, several spikes flew out of the ground just underneath him, impaling his body.

Agony shot through him, and he screamed as he writhed on the ground, coughing up blood.

“Owain!” he heard someone shriek as Grima laughed just before he felt the darkness start to take him.

 **“POOR, FOOLISH BOY,”** Grima simply stated, gazing down at the motionless Owain with no pity. **“YOU ARE EVEN MORE PATHETIC THAN THE REST OF YOUR LINE.”**

* * *

When he was aware of anything again, the first thing he noticed was that everything hurt. Owain groaned, feeling his head throbbing. Falchion, which was beside him, glowed gently. How was he alive? He gaze landed on his arm, which, like the rest of his body, had light green sparks floating gently off of it, and he sucked in a breath as he realized what had happened.

“ _Miracle_ ,” he whispered. Reaching out, his fingers closed around Falchion again. Everything ached, but the Miracle skill, occasionally manifesting in members of the Exalted line, including his mother (and, from what he’d heard from Emm, Exalt Emmeryn in her timeline), had saved his life.

Grima had left him laying there, not appearing to realize that Owain had ended up surviving his attack. They were gripping their side, and Owain realized that they were _injured_ due to Owain’s efforts with Falchion, given how they were staying to the back, with the Risen that they had summoned protecting him. He could possibly even be _sealed_.

As Owain focused elsewhere, he could see Brady desperately hacking away at the Risen with Helswath while Cynthia would throw Gungnir and then fight with Mystletainn until she was able to retrieve it. Kjelle was near them, backing Cynthia and Brady up with Gáe Bolg and Balmung. Morgan was casting Valflame and Forseti, while Emm was ignoring her Grima’s Truth tome completely and using the Book of Naga to disintegrate Risen.

Owain needed to get up. He needed to keep fighting, to seal Grima away. But how could he do that when he felt like he had no energy left? He grunted, using Falchion to push himself into a sitting position as his head spun.

“Owain! You're awake!” he heard a voice beside him, and the thin, warm arm that slipped around his shoulders could only be one person.

“Inigo,” he weakly rasped, gazing up at the familiar face. He wasn't sure how long he had been out; had Inigo been protecting him this whole time?

Inigo looked at him worriedly, his eyes shining with nervousness. Owain could swear that Inigo’s Brand was glowing, too. “I’m so glad you’re alive,” he murmured, and gently, he brushed Owain’s hair aside. “I can’t heal you, but there is something I can do. Watch me carefully, alright?”

Frowning, Owain watched Inigo. “What are you…?”

And Inigo began to dance. Owain was about to ask whether he was crazy, whether the prince had finally lost his senses, but as Inigo danced in front of Owain, he could feel strength surging through him, an ancient magic flowing from Inigo’s body into his own.

With a jolt, Owain realized that he felt renewed. Refreshed, even. His wounds still ached, but they had stopped bleeding, and he had the energy to stand up and continue to fight. “You can _dance_.”

“I can dance,” Inigo affirmed with a small smile, pulling Tyrfing out of its sheath. Yewfelle was strapped to his back, but from the nearly empty quiver, it had gotten quite its fair share of use. “Don’t lose now, alright? Falchion needs to seal Grima away.”

“Right! Thank you, my friend!” Owain squeezed Inigo to him in a brief hug, before grabbing Falchion and Mjölnir and standing. " _Renewal."_ The self-healing spell went through his body and he felt some of the pain secede. His entire body still ached, but he wasn't in any danger of dying, thankfully. Searching around for where Grima was, he leapt back into the battle as he screamed spells and hacked away at the Risen. But just as he finally spotted the shrouded black figure, two smaller figures made their way to the Avatar, tomes at the ready.

And then, Grima’s Avatar spoke, but despite how it carried across the area, it didn’t appear to be their massive, booming voice.

“Morgan… my precious child… is that… you?”

Morgan froze. “…Mom?”

Emm also froze. “Dad?”

Indeed, it appeared to be the Tactician Robin – which one, they weren’t sure – but now that Owain focused through the black flames, there was no mistaking the familiar coat. It could be one of the Morgans’ parents. It could be both of the Morgans’ parents. Or it could be the parent of some other Morgan that was not present.

“Morgan… it is you… stay… away…” And then the Avatar’s face took on a pained countenance.

 **“COME TO ME MORGAN. COME BACK AND CLAIM YOUR BIRTHRIGHT,”** the wounded Avatar – no, _Grima_ – coaxed. There was something in their tone, something cold and seductive, and both Morgan and Emm hesitated. **“YOU ARE MY CHILDREN, EVEN IF YOU ARE TAINTED.”**

“Morgan,” Emm said softly as she took one step closer. “You know what we should do, right?”

“Right, Morgan,” Morgan said to his female counterpart. He smiled grimly as Emm held up the tome Grima’s Truth.

**“WHAT… WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!”**

Both Morgan and Emm placed their hand on the tome, and aimed their other hand at Grima. Dark, purple energy similar to Grima’s swirled around their bodies, but it didn’t seem to be corrupting them. Instead, he could faintly make out Naga’s Brand on Emm’s forehead as well as on Morgan’s hand.

And in that instant, Owain also knew what the Morgans were planning. Adrenaline surging through his body, making him forget about the pain he was in, and he shoved the Risen near him aside as he _bolted_ towards them, Falchion in hand. But it was too late.

_“GRIMA’S TRUTH!”_

Grima’s Avatar made a motion as if they were going to dodge, but at the last moment, they abruptly froze, and appeared to be visibly fighting against their wounded body.

 **“NO! RELEASE ME!** I won’t… let you… live…! **STOP!** Ne… ver!” they screamed, their voice flipping between the dragon and the more gentle voice that had first spoken to the Morgans.

The blasts struck, Grima screaming horrifically as if he was being torn apart, and Owain stopped in his tracks, coughing as his vision was obscured by smoke. “Morgan! Emm!”

“Oh gods! Owain, what happened?” Inigo ran up beside him, firing at a Risen as he did so, his voice sounding horrified. “Please tell me that…!”

“No! No no no!” Cynthia shrieked as she, Kjelle, and Brady came over as well.

The smoke cleared, and Owain let out a cry as he saw three figures slumped on the ground. The first was Grima’s Avatar – no, _Robin_. Their body was broken and bloody, and slowly fading away just like the rest of the Risen were.

“Thank… you… for stopping… me…” they whispered, before they closed their eyes. “Please… save Morgan…”

And the Avatar was gone.

But right next to their, their tomes tucked underneath their bodies, were Morgan and Emm. They were completely still, and when Owain went to roll Emm over, her body was cold, and he let out a cry. “Emm! Morgan!”

Brady burst into tears. “No! Damn you two! We told you not to!”

Cynthia clapped her hands over her mouth, tears brimming, and Inigo was biting his lip from where he had pulled Morgan into his arms. “No… no one else was supposed to die,” he whispered.

Owain gently cradled Emm, pressing a kiss to her forehead and holding her close. She was not the Morgan from his world, but in the short time that they had been together, they had become friends, comrades, _family_ … it was not _fair_. Owain had lost so many people already, and now… what good was Falchion, what good were _all_ of these legendary weapons, if they couldn’t save the people that they had loved?

“Damn it!” Kjelle hissed, punching the back of Grima in frustration. “Isn’t there anything we could do?”

Biting his lip, Owain stared at Emm’s quiet face, brushing her blond hair back, and then the floor – Grima’s draconic body – shook. Heart pounding, Owain quickly stood up, Emm still in his arms. “We have to make haste,” he breathed.

“But—” Inigo stood as well, Morgan on his back. Cynthia, Kjelle, and Brady quickly scooped up the scattered tomes.

 _“Lady Naga, hear our cry, and return us back to our true home!”_ Owain hastily whispered one of Libra’s prayers, hoping that Naga would listen to them as she had promised she would.

He felt the familiar floating sensation that had happened when he’d been first summoned, and he closed his eyes as he and the others disappeared.

* * *

They were back in Naga’s temple.

Naga was nowhere to be found, but Owain ignored that fact as he gently set Emm down on the cool tiles, Inigo setting Morgan beside her. Like this, they appeared to be sleeping.

“…This isn’t fair,” Cynthia whispered, tears filling her eyes. “They made sure that Grima couldn’t come back. They shouldn’t have to _die_ as their reward.”

Owain smoothed Emm’s hair back, staring down at their faces. As he pulled his hand back against his side, it brushed against Mjölnir.

“One of the legendary Holy Weapons of Jugdral,” Owain muttered, glancing down at Mjölnir. There had been numerous Holy Weapons, and Naga had given all of them to the seven of them alongside Grima’s Truth. Amongst them were three swords, two lances, an axe, a bow, four tomes, and… a staff.

“The Holy Rod of Edda, enshrined by Crusader Bragi, the High Priest,” Owain whispered to himself, something odd shooting through his stomach, realization hitting him as to _what_ they had in their possession right now. “The Valkyrie Staff.”

His head snapped around to stare at Brady and the staff in his hands. “Brady!” he gasped. “You hold the legendary Valkyrie Staff! It bestows life to the dead!” He didn’t know if this would work, but this was the only chance that they had if they wanted to save Morgan and Emm.

Everyone immediately stiffened, and Brady grabbed the staff strapped to his back, his face pale, tears streaming down his face. “C’mon, you damn staff, you had better work or I’ll snap you…!” he hissed out as he waved it over Morgan and Emm.

The staff glowed, and bluish-green light seemed to flicker out of it, trickling down into Morgan and Emm’s bodies. For a moment, nothing happened, and then, Emm let out a weak gasp as Morgan groaned.

Owain’s heart pounded in anticipation. “Emm! Morgan!”

Their eyes fluttered open, and they stared dazedly up at the five worried faces above them. “Wh… what happened?” Morgan whispered.

“Are we… alive?” Emm coughed out.

Instead of replying, Owain grabbed the two of them in a tight hug that was immediately joined by the other four. Brady was bawling again, and Cynthia and Inigo didn’t look that far off, and he could swear that Kjelle had a suspiciously wet glimmer in her eyes.

He squeezed Morgan and Emm against him, thanking Naga that they had been in the position to bring them back. “You two… you two didn’t deserve to go out like that,” Owain murmured into Morgan’s hair. “Two Chosen Ones such as yourselves deserve to live and see the world that they had created.”

The two were silent for a moment, before Morgan spoke up. “You… you guys brought us back, didn’t you?”

“Thank you…” Emm murmured, nuzzling into Owain’s shoulder as the seven of them hugged each other close. The fact that they had _won_ and none of them had died in the process… the euphoria hit him, and Owain started laughing – not in the crazy manner that he normally did, but one of immense, unfiltered relief. His laughter was infectious, and the feeling of relief spread throughout them all.

“…We did it,” Inigo whispered, his shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been lifted off of them. “We _really_ did it. We defeated Grima… and none of us are gone forever.”

“We did!” Cynthia chirped, throwing her arms around Owain as they wiggled free from their group hug. “Owain! You’re a genius!” She was laughing, Morgan was now grinning, and even Kjelle had managed to give one of her rare smiles as she helped Emm to her feet.

“Yes, but don’t forget,” Owain reminded them. “Since we won, we have to head back to our worlds now since they are separating. They need Exalts, after all.” And with the rest of the Ylissean royal lines destroyed, it had to be the seven of them that did it. There were no other options. He would gladly give Lucina the title back were she alive, but now…

“O-Oh, right…” Cynthia removed her arms from Owain, and gazed at him sadly. “Look, I know that you’re not _my_ cousin, but… you’ll always be family!” She looked at the rest of them. “ _All_ of you. Doesn’t matter if we’re not _actually_ related, being from different worlds and all, because in a way, we are!”

“Cynthia, that was really sweet,” Inigo said, hand covering his mouth as his cheeks turned pink. “Oh, I’m going to miss all of you.”

For the umpteenth time, Brady burst into tears.

“Brady!” Kjelle said, exasperated. “You’re going to get everyone else going! Again!”

“Sh-Shut up, I can’t help it!” he bawled. “I’m g-gonna miss all of you so much! Y’all were great friends!”

Indeed, Inigo and Cynthia were already sniffling, the Morgans were wiping tears away, and Owain wasn’t much better off. Swallowing, he gazed down at the Gemstones on the Binding Shield. One complete Fire Emblem, enough to awaken his Falchion where the ones in their world had failed. It was their combined strength that had made all of this possible.

“…There is one thing that we could do,” Owain said slowly, and the others looked at him. “We take the Fire Emblem apart and take our portion back to our world. With the other elements and Grima destroyed, then there is no purpose for them – we may keep them for ourselves. They will serve as reminders of the journey that we went through. And maybe, just maybe… we shall reassemble it one day.”

There was silence for a moment, before Inigo smiled. “I like this idea. I’d love to keep Azure as a memento of our time together.”

“Yeah!” Cynthia grinned. “It’s a promise.”

“Wait,” Brady said. “How’re we gonna know which world is which? If we go world hopping again, how’ll we know if the ones we met are the ones we knew?”

“We should make a coded phrase up!” Emm suggested. “Something that won’t sound suspicious if we say it to someone else, but distinct enough that if one of us hears it, we’ll know!”

“Like what, though?” Inigo asked, frowning.

“…How about ‘It’s good to see you, my dear friend’?” Owain suggested.

“Yes!” Morgan hopped into the air. “That’s perfect! ‘It’s good to see you, my dear friend’!”

“I like it!” Cynthia beamed as well.

“A little corny, but it works,” Kjelle agreed, placing her hand on her hip.

“Then that is what we shall use,” Owain decided. “We shall go home, take up the mantle of Exalt in our homelands in place of our honored sibling or cousin… and pray that one day, fate will be kind enough to allow our paths to cross once more.”

As Owain already had Falchion on him, he stayed back as Emm took the Binding Shield and the other five pulled their respective Gemstones off of it. The only proof that the seven of them had that they had ever been together… it would be enough until they could see each other again.

Almost as if it had been her cue, Naga appeared in front of them.

 _“My children_ ,” Naga finally spoke to them, a smile on her face. _“Are you ready?”_

“We are ready, Lady Naga,” Owain murmured. “We thank you for your guidance.”

* * *

When he had made it back to his world, he had found his friends – beaten, battered, but _alive_. They had managed to find his world’s Morgan (amnesiac, but _alive)._ Even _Lucina_ had miraculously survived. To this day, he wasn’t sure exactly what had happened to them all, but he was starting to suspect that Naga might have intervened.

Despite that, Lucina had still been in very poor shape; she had survived, true, but with her legs shattered, she had started using a wheelchair as even with healing magic, it would be impossible for her to ever regain mobility in her legs.

Regardless, she had been cheerful now that Grima was gone, and when she and Owain had seen each other, the two of them had immediately started crying as Owain had run forward to embrace her. His cousin was alive. She was _alive_.

“You did it,” she whispered in his ear. “Owain, you _did it_. I don’t know _how_ , but you Awakened Falchion and stopped Grima.”

Owain had beamed at her. “I had help,” he murmured, and looked up at his friends. A soft expression had crossed his face as he studied Inigo, Brady, Cynthia, Kjelle, Morgan, and the rest of them. “It is quite the tale. When we have a moment to sit down, I shall regale you with the tale of the seven Chosen Ones and their conjoined forces that allowed us to put an end to the Fell Dragon. And now that my dear cousin is here and whole, I shall go back to simply being Prince Owain.”

Lucina pulled away, and squeezed his hand. “Owain…” She looked down at Falchion, and then up at him. “I am not the Exalt. Not anymore. There’s a new Exalt, one who is more worthy.”

“Pardon?” Owain stared at her. She couldn’t mean...

“You are Exalt Owain,” she said softly. “By all means, you have earned the title.” Behind her, the rest of their friends nodded, grinning. “Like the First Exalt, over a thousand years ago, you have performed the Awakening and stopped Grima. There is no one more fitting of the title in this world than you.”

Owain stared at her, and he blinked back tears. “My beloved cousin, Lucina the Light One, if you are sure about this… then I will wear the title of Exalt with pride.”

His friends had survived, and he was going to be eternally grateful for that.

But he was going to miss the new friends, the ones that were practically _family_ , that he had made.

* * *

Just as things had been settling down, Owain had found himself pulled through space and time again.

Like last time, he had no idea where he was. This was starting to become a trend. His eyes landed on three people near him, and he opened his mouth to speak.

“I am Exalt Owain,” Owain automatically said. “I hail from the kingdom of Ylisse.” Wait. That was _not_ what he had meant to say.

“Oh! Another Ylissean!” said one of the men, the blue-haired one.

“Oho? Which world is it this time?” Anna asked. She hadn’t introduced herself, but there was no mistaking that mischievous glint in her eye or her bright red hair. All Annas had those features.

“Let’s see…” the person with a hood covering their face frowned, and Owain raised his eyebrows as he tried to figure out _what_ was going on here. “World of Awakening #182, seems like it.”

“Pardon, but what sorcery is occurring here?” Owain asked them, confused. He hadn’t intended to _introduce himself_ when he had first appeared, only ask them what was going on, but whatever magic had brought him here had made him do just that.

“My apologies, Exalt Owain!” the hooded man turned back to Owain, smiling at him. Owain could see some kind of… weapon in his hands that he didn’t recognize. He instinctively made sure that he had both Falchion and Mjölnir on him. “You are currently in the Kingdom of Askr. I am known as Kiran the Summoner, and these are Prince Alfonse of Askr and Commander Anna. I summoned you because we need your help.”

* * *

After being given an explanation by Kiran (who, apparently, couldn’t control _who_ he summoned), Owain made sure that he had Falchion and Mjölnir and sighed as he stepped into the cafeteria. Kiran had assured him that while he was here, he could still communicate with some people from his home world, and he was happy to send Owain home at any point if he no longer wanted to be here.

“I suggest you hang around a little bit, though,” Kiran had told him. “There are plenty of people here, and I’m sure that you will enjoy your time meeting so many people. Heroes like you need some form of adventure, correct?”

Kiran had been right about that – and it _was_ nice to get out of the rebuilt castle in Ylisse for a little bit. Being Exalt was hard work, and he had not envied his uncle, his aunt, his mom, his cousin, nor any of their ancestors at all. And with the amount of rebuilding that had to be done not only in Ylisse, but the _world_ , he certainly had his work cut out for him.

He hadn’t argued with Lucina, though. She had seemed sure that _he_ deserved the title of Exalt more than she did, and with the rest of their friends agreeing with her, he had conceded. Thankfully, they had remained by his side, ensuring that he never got too bogged down. His world’s Inigo and Severa had even become his retainers.

Lucina had assured him in their first correspondence that she would be able to handle it for a short period of time with the help of the others, and that if Owain felt like helping these people, then there was no problem with him staying in Askr for the time being.

Owain grabbed his meal tray, and sat down at a table, beginning to eat. Once he was done eating, he would have to figure out what to do here. There were a lot of people here that he hadn’t met yet, and he could swear that he’d even seen the Hero-King Marth and Ike running about… maybe he would get a chance to talk to them?

Well, maybe he would once he stopped getting butterflies in his stomach at the mere thought of approaching such legends.

(Other than Marth and Ike, he had seen a few familiar faces, but no one that he had personally known very well, though he wasn’t sure why those two, a blond mage with his shirt inside-out and a white-haired archer with an eyepatch, had _stared_ at him though. Maybe he would inquire about it later.)

A hand reached out and caught Owain’s sleeve, and Owain whirled around, intending to give whoever it was a piece of his mind. “What are you—”

“It’s good to see you, my dear friend.”

Owain’s eyes widened as he found himself staring at five _very_ familiar heads of blue hair, all wearing a necklace with a Gemstone on it, and one head of blond hair with a Binding Shield strapped to her shoulder. All were dressed in garb befitting an Exalt of Ylisse and were grinning widely at him. Owain felt a lump in his throat, but he grinned back at them before jumping up and throwing his arms around Emm and Kjelle (the closest ones) in a hug.

“It’s good to see you, my dear friends.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **Parents:** I’m leaving the remaining parents ambiguous as well as Robin’s gender in each of the seven worlds aside from the ones the Morgans are from, but some things were predetermined for this fic:  
> -Chrom married the Village Maiden in both Owain and Emm’s worlds.  
> -Robin did not marry any second gen children or Tiki in any world.  
> -M!Robin married Emmeryn only in Emm’s world.  
> -Lissa married Libra only in Owain’s world.  
> -Aside from the Lucinas’ siblings, all the children are only children.
> 
>  **Libra!Owain:** I pondered for awhile who to make Owain’s father for this fic. The first draft of the story had him as Robin’s child (and killing Grima himself) and F!Morgan as his sister who didn’t appear in the main story. In the end, though, I discarded that idea because I wanted them all as only children. I also wanted him with whitish/blond hair since I can’t imagine him with any other color, so that left Henry, Libra, and Vaike. Between the three, I usually pick Henry due to Owain potentially taking after him in many things (as well as the fact that I like a magic-Owain to tie into Fates), but then I looked at Libra and noted that in Libra’s ending, he was considered an incarnation of Naga, and I felt that him passing this potential on to his son, who would Awaken Falchion and be key to stopping Grima, was symbolic.
> 
>  **Robin:** I wanted to keep it ambiguous as to which Robin they were.
> 
>  **It’s Good to See You:** Taken from Heirs of Fate. I couldn’t think of anything better.
> 
>  **Exalt!Owain and Dancer!Inigo:** I. AM. WEAK.
> 
>  **Leo and Niles Cameo:** They were SO confused when they saw Exalt Owain. Let’s face it, I want Exalt Owain to meet them, especially Birthright!Leo and Niles.


End file.
